This morning, Haydn and Nikki ran off to work, and let Michael and I stay and lock up. It's really only in Jehovah's organization that complete strangers would trust each other quite like this. I mean, I only met Mike a week ago, and he only knows these folks because they are friends of a brother he once met in the states when visiting for the international convention. So we are strangers twice removed, and yet, I'm cooking my breakfast on their stove, taking orange juice from their fridge, and they are both at work. It's a real eye (and heart) opener. We went and got them a nice card and a box of chocolates before returning their keys to them. They were so nice to us.

Mike and I headed off to nearby wine country in the area they call, "The Riverland." On the way we went through Berri and saw the famous Berri Bridge.

Nikki Running off to Work	Haydn Rushing as well	Nikki Posing with Mike	Renmark Fountains
A Tree by Murray River	The Chineese Lion During Day	Renmark Town Centre	Renmark Kingdom Hall
Driving Through Wine Country	The Obligatory Big Orange Photo	A Slanted Cafe in Berri	The Berri Bridge
View from Berri	View from Berri	View from Berri	View from Berri

Chris, who we met last night at the dinner, works at a local winery called Selena Estate Wines, halfway between Berri and Loxton. He gave us a quick tour of the facilities and then its was off to the tasting room. Mike was driving, so he didn't swallow any of it, but I didn't hold back. It was too good, besides. Some of these wines distribute worldwide, and some are only available by coming down and picking them up from the counter.

Lots of Wine	Small Bottling Machine	The Small Tanks	The Big Tanks
Chris Giving Us a Tour	The Selena Estate Vinyards	Their Testing Lab	Chris Opens a Fresh Bottle for Us
Pouring Us a Sample

The next vinard we visited was deeper into Baroosa Valley, called Banrock Station. They had a really sweet port there that they dont distribute. We had a taste, and then had some lunch on their back porch. The scenery was just amazing, overlooking vinards and part of the Murray river, but the flies were just awful. There were always at least three of them on your face trying to get into your ears and mouth. I could barely stand it. Just then a magpie swooped down and hopped around the deck near our table, presumably looking for food. It jumped up onto the table where two old women were sitting and promptly ate a praying mantis they had been watching with interest. I had just happened to have taken a photo at the right momemnt, because I didn't even know what had happened until they told me afterward, flabergasted that the poor bug had been eaten. You can see clearly in the photo the shock on the woman's face, and the mantis in the beak of the magpie. A moment later and it was all over. I, instead, had a pumpkin-ginger soup with no flies in it for lunch.

Pelicans at Banrock Station	More Wine Tasting	Pumpkin Soup Overlooking the River	Me and Mike
View from Banrock Station	View from Banrock Station	View from Banrock Station	View from Banrock Station
Magpie's Lunch	Posing Proudly

The next place we visited was past the unpronounceable town of Nuriootpa, pop. 7,000. It was called Jacob's Creek. By then, however, I was too lightheaded to appreciate most of what was going on. I only sampled two of their wines. Michael tried them all and got several bottles from all the wineries. It was an awsome time that I would not have had if I'd stayed with the group. But going off the beaten path, as it were, I got to see a side of Australia that I don't think too many people realize even exists.

Jacob's Creek	Hills from the Baroosa Valley	Trees in the Visitor's Centre	Jacob's Creek Cafe
Even More Wine Tasting	Purple Hills

On the four hour drive back to Adalaide, we couldn't help stopping at "The Wispering Wall," which is essentially just a dam providing a fresh water reservoir for Adalaide. But, because of the curved shape of this gigantic thing, sound ripples clear across to the other side of the gorge, so that two people standing on opposite sides, farther than you can see, can communicate clearly, even at a low whisper. It's really creepy! Because, you'd be standing there, looking at the scenery, and all of a sudden there's a strange voice in your head that seems to come from all around, but looking all around, you see no one. It almost sounded like a microphone and speaker were set up, but you could actually hear it from far away if you were anywhere along a tangent to the edge of the dam.

View From Wispering Wall	View From Wispering Wall	View From Wispering Wall	View From Wispering Wall
The Instructions	From the Footpath	Talking to No One	Mike
Me on the Dam	Rusting Machinery in the Car Park	Rusting Machinery in the Car Park	Rusting Machinery in the Car Park

The rest of the day was spent trying to reunite me with the rest of the gang. We ended up going to a nice sister named Becky's bachelorette pad for tea (dinner) and would meet up with Matt, Marnie, Ness and Joel in Marion (south of Adalaide) afterwards. But there were too many people trying to meet for other reasons, and everything got a little confusing with plans changing every five minutes. So Matt came to get me there, already pretty close to our final destination that evening. In the mean time, I was really enjoying myself, partly because the effect of the wine tasting had not yet worn off, and partly because this was the first Italian food I'd had since leaving NY.

So Matt, Marnie, Ness and Joel drive up all the way from Marion to Salisbury to pick me up, and we cram the already stuffed car with my bags and head off to Surrey Downs to spend the night at another complete stranger's house. This time, it was someone Matt had met online several years ago, and then once again at the Sydney International Convention last year. But, I could not imagine a more hospitable family, taking all five of us in, and treating us as though they have known us all their lives. Of course, they fed us as well - (I had just eaten, but the others were starved) so, out comes this big bowl of pasta and garlic bread on the table! Talk about deja vu. I could not help but pretend as though I was just as famished as the others; they were just too nice to us, even craking open a new bottle of one of the local wines for us. It was just great!

Then, as we're all still sitting at the table, Paul brings out three unmarked bottles, and without explanation, pours some of one into a tiny liquor glass for me to sample. It was really good! Before you knew it, we were in the shed (the garage) admiring his bottle collection filled entirely with home-made liqours, burbons, and whiskeys! The entire wall was covered in these bottles, each with a little number tagged on the side, cross referenced to a database of its name, recipe and comments he'd made about it - I mean hundreds of them! He showed me how he experimented with soaking the spirits in different ammounts of a certain type of wood, toasted and untoasted, for the various whiskeys. It was just amazing. So we spent half the night sampling all of his favorites. He just wanted to show us everything. We're going to sleep well tonight!

We spent the second half of then night by their piano, listening to their daughter, Amber, play and Marnie and Ness sing. They flipped through all of the music books looking for classic songs, and each one they came to, Amber just started playing as though she'd practiced it the night before. Then they moved on to the kingdom melodies. It was funny to watch the three of them talk about music as though they'd all learned in the same class together. We had a really nice time.

Sampling	Showing Off His Home Brew	Paul	Paul and Amber Looking for Their Favorites
Joel, Ness, and Amber	In the Living Room	Amber Playing	Ness and Marnie Singing
Listening	Joel Passed Out